Mayoral Candidate Assassinated Before Mexico June 6 Elections

Another mayoral candidate was assassinated before the June 6 elections in Mexico that will fill the position of local seats and around half of the country's governors.

The recent kill had brought the total number of candidates assassinated to 34 around the country, according to an Aljazeera report.

The mayoral candidate was identified as Alma Barragan, who was shot on Tuesday while campaigning for the mayorship of the city of Moroleon, which is in the state of Guanajuato known for violence.

During the shooting, two other people were reportedly injured.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador addressed the killing on Wednesday, saying that it was no doubt the doing of organized criminal gangs who were killing candidates to scare voters away from the polls.

Lopez added that the mafias dominate the elections when there is a lot of abstentionisms.

The Etellekt consulting said that the majority of the 34 slain candidates were eyeing nominations or running for local posts, according to an ABC News Go report.

Criminal Gangs

Experts noted that criminal gangs wanted to place sympathetic candidates in town halls and city governments. In this way, they could continue their operations without interference from police and extort money from local businesses and government budgets.

Barragan was running on the ticket of the Citizen's Movement Party. The party had released a statement, saying that it is unthinkable that participating in political life means putting one's life at risk.

The party added that this is the most violent election in the history of Mexico. They also noted that they are not willing to act as if that is normal, according to a KTLA News report.

Gladys McCormick, a history professor at Syracuse University, said that there has always been violence with elections and electoral cycles, particularly at the mayoral level.

The security expert added that this time, however, feels like it is more than ordinary.

McCormick said that the organized criminal gangs have infiltrated municipalities and law enforcement. She added that they are now working their way up.

The Etellekt consulting firm said that a total of 88 crimes have been assassinated since the start of the election last year.

More than 60 mayoral candidates have withdrawn from the campaign across the country amid the violence and insecurity, according to The Wallstreet Journal report.

One candidate, who was a former Olympic athlete, was kidnapped by a local gang in Valle de Bravo.

The gang members had warned that they would kill her if she did not quit the race. The candidate has not campaigned ever since the incident.

Meanwhile, some 150 candidates have received protection from the government after they received death threats.

Mexican officials said that the threats mostly came from organized crime groups.

In the state of Guerrero, the whole slate of candidates of one opposition party had quit their candidacy after being threatened by a criminal group.

Drug cartels have widened their horizon in criminal activities. These criminal groups have also entered smuggling migrants, selling black-market gasoline, and extortion, aside from the usual drug trafficking.

WATCH: Violence surges ahead of Mexico's mid term election - from CGTN America